YEREVAN. – There was [the] March 1 [tragedy in Yerevan] in 2008, and 13 years later the country is going according to the same scenario; only the roles have changed. Edmon Marukyan—chairman of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (BAP), head of its current parliamentary faction, and their candidate for Prime Minister—stated this Thursday during their election campaign in Yerevan.

According to him, the political forces will definitely try to lead the people to shocks, but this can be avoided if the BAP—which has learned lessons from the past—strategy works. "There will be no such turn of events if no [political] force receives enough support to declare victory [in the forthcoming elections]. We [the BAP] again call for solidarity and the formation of a Government of National Accord. Everything is in the hands of the people. We hope that the voters will vote for our agenda. During the whole [election] campaign, we have tried to break the atmosphere of 'blacks' and 'whites,'" the party leader said.

At present, as per Marukyan, no political force in Armenia can consider that it enjoys the full support of the people, and no one can be considered the people's leader. "Everyone has become ordinary politicians. The situation is not what [it was] in 2018. And that is why, when they get 20% [of the votes] each, they will have to sit at the negotiating table," the BAP candidate for prime minister added.

Edmon Marukyan noted that the challenges in Armenia are more than the capacity of the state and Armenians all over the world, and that is why the calls for unification are more urgent now than ever.